Anthropology and Human Biology for premed?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Emory University
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<p>I didn't want to major in Biology, Chemistry or NBB because I think it would be more of an overkill to major in it. I love the sciences, but since coming to college, I think I would like to explore other subjects too!</p>

<p>But narrowing down my list of majors (Economics, Sociology, Anthropology and Human Biology), I seem to like Anthropology and Human Biology more and more. But seeing the 60 hrs to complete, I am wondering if it is too much of a load to take along with premed? Is the course generally hard? What is the average GPA for the course, or anthropology in general at Emory?</p>

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<p>I don’t know the average gpa of the Antro but its the hardest out of your 3 majors just because econ and soc are pretty easy majors. From the friends that I know that do anthro, it is not a tough as other sciences but can be a lot of work</p>

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<p>NBB is not that hard, it’s probably only as difficult (or less) as Anthro or psyche for that matter (NBB overlaps w/those a lot and the hardest class you’ll have to experience is NBB 301 and that really isn’t but so tough). To choose major based on difficulty is crap. Choose based upon what you wanna learn. Anthro. makes a solid well-rounded major for a pre-med. Enhances writing and scientific/critical thinking skills simultaneously.</p>

<p>Anyway, chem and bio stands alone. Emory also doesn’t really publicly release grade distributions. My hunch is that the Anthro./human bio sits a little lower than NBB (my friend saw a ranking where NBB was about number 10, and chem, bio, and physics were at the top). NBB has too many standard lecture classes to be that hard. Anthro. classes (and not just seminars) may incur additional workload outside of class to gain a deep understanding of material. NBB classes (especially mid-levels) generally only have exams. Most Emory students can easily master exams, especially when they are multiple choice. Adding writing to a science like course lessens the ease for most as many can easily get an A on an exam, but not an essay.</p>

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<p>D majored in Anthro and Human Bio with a minor in global health. I believe a number of the science courses required for the major are also premed courses - chem, bio and calculus. She was late to the premed game but still managed to get all the prereqs except for physics, which she took after she graduated.</p>

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<p>Oh to be clear, when I say anth. sits lower, I mean the average grade given is probably lower than NBB (only thing making NBB competitive is 301 which is curved to a B-). Many of those mid-level NBB courses that sound hard are actually really easy (some are large and give shockingly easy multiple choice exams. Examples are neuroendicrinology, Drugs and Behavior, and Animal behavior). Most of the tougher, more work-intensive elective courses associated with NBB are in psyche (psyche has classes like psyche 103, Brain and Behavior w/Edwards. This is significantly tougher, but is also better run than most NBB classes), anthro, and biology depts meaning that many of their tougher courses (exception physical bio which is a bio and NBB 301, and perhaps computational neuroscience when it’s offered. Only 2 of which you must take) lie in non-NBB depts, one of them being anthro. I hardly think NBB should be mentioned in the same sentence as chem and bio in terms of difficulty when you can take a majority of your classes outside of biology based courses (or outside of the dept. for that matter). NBB students also are not forced to take hardcore quantitative classes (other than 301) regarding their major like psyche, where they have to take psyche stats. and psyche methods (heavy workload, must design own studies, graded harshly). They also don’t have to take any lab courses w/in their major courses whatsoever(only pre-regs like chem and bio have a lab. None of the actual NBB core courses or in dept. electives have a mandatory lab component, which can’t be said can for psyche or anthro. Each have at least 1 course w/a mandatory lab) The only big issue w/NBB is that one must normally take chem and bio (I don’t think physics is required anymore for 301, just highly recommended. Regardless, one must take it for pre-med, so it might as well be before or along w/NBB 301).<br>
But even w/chem and bio, that makes for a total of 3 hard (no I don’t count 401, psyche methods for example, is much more intensive) classes that you have to take whereas it is like 4-5 in psyche. This counts psyche 110/111 which aren’t necessarily pleasant. Many say it’s easy, but in reality the averages are the same or lower than intro. bio and chem. And then, if one is pre-med, they have to also take bio and chem (on top of other pre-med requirements). So a pre-med psyche major will probably have to tolerate a lot more than an NBB major. One of my friends switched from it to NBB for this reason (she claimed to be working ridiculously hard for a BA in psyche when she could have a BS in NBB for the same or less).<br>
I just had to dispel any myths about the difficulty of these majors that pre-meds gravitate towards. Point is, if you are interested in neuroscience (oops, I mean behavioral science because the NBB lessens the emphasis on the biological basis in its course offerings when compared to other schools) and you’re pre-med, you should go for it. Your GPA will not suffer any more or less than it would for a psyche or anthro. major and will probably suffer significantly less than in bio or chem. Plus it encompasses a greater variety of subject areas. With NBB, you can have the cake and eat it too. Take classes you want (learn “some” neuroscience, but not a lot) and maintain a high GPA. Again, you can, and most do, completely avoid the bio and harder psyche oriented courses. You can take all of your electives in anthro. if you wanted. And the actual electives in the dept. are by and large easy. My NBB friends make this point quite clear (I mean seriously, only the core classes yield class average GPAs well below B+. Psyche has maybe 3-4 at about B- and 110 w/Edwards or Hampton can go to C+).</p>

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<p>Thank you all for clear-cut responses! Bernie12, that must have taken forever to type! I am now gravitating towards NBB since researching their website, I see a lot of research and study abroad opportunities. I actually wanted to take NBB before someone mentioned on Facebook that it was such an over-strenuous course to take, but my other choice of taking anthropology and human biology is still a strong possibility.</p>

<p>I am interested in the neuroscience as much as anthropology, and both seem to correlate well with my pre-med prerequisites already. Both majors also seems to offer a lot of opportunities regarding research and travel abroad so that is an extra plus. </p>

<p>I just find it (for the lack of better word) “sucky” that medical schools look predominately at GPAs as a major factor, and that is why all of the premeds are always kinda worried (high-strung) about their grades. And here is where I almost have to take into consideration the major’s average GPA and the amount of course load. Overall, I want to take something that I like but is also interesting and unique (unlike all the premeds that usually major in bio and chem), and would just give me a well rounded aspect in case of life.</p>

<p>Never expected such headaches to come from picking a major! :)</p>

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<p>I think NBB and anthro. serve that purpose well. I am not pre-med, but I personally don’t respect the imbalance in Emory’s NBB major. I really do believe that it is too biased toward the behavioral biology aspect and much lesser so biology (again, biological aspects are watered down outside of NBB 301, special topics, and senior seminars). I also think that if they are going to have it be imbalanced, they should make those courses more rigorous and go towards critical thinking based classes instead of those large multiple choice, regurgitate some info. classes. When you get to a 200-300 level course, you should not be sitting in a class greater than 150(this shouldn’t even happen, intro. courses are not this large) people taking a freaking multiple choice tests (biochem and Arab-Israeli Conflict are 120 and 150+ respectively and do not give purely multiple choice tests. The only class that gives appropriate level pure multiple choice exams is Psyche 103 and Psyche 110 and that’s b/c Edwards teaches). These classes are supposed to go into greater depth and summon much deeper understanding. They could do it so much better w/o making the courses GPA killers, and that is the disappointment for a person like me who wants to legit learn. A pre-med may by and large like this (I mean, let’s be honest, during undergrad, most are not after a deep understanding of material in the way I say. And if more work is a sure way to a high grade, they’ll have a problem, even when expectations are crystal clear and grading of assignments is soft)
Chem, bio, anthro. and psyche do that much better and it’s primarily because they have many more professors who choose to run their class in that manner. Realize that when NBB majors say that the major is strenuous, they are exaggerating and are really just referring to one course that everyone has to take, NBB 301. The class is kind of tough, but in chemistry (again, I’m a chem and bio double major non-premed) we can legit say it’s strenuous (has less requirements, but the classes are significantly harder) because we have Organic chem, pchem (this class kills the difficulty of NBB 301), mid-level organic class, instrumental analysis (this one’s okay), inorganic (more than often this as well), biochem (so does this class). Biology has developmental, organismal form and function, genetics, ecology (the latter 3 don’t grade that hard, but require lots of prep. OFF and ecology prof. gives test that require critical thinking), cell biology, comparative vertebrate anatomy, cancer biol, immunology, bioinformatics, etc. Basically their core, special topics, upper-level electives, are run in the way they should be. Professors try different ways of teaching that are more effective and more challenging w/o putting GPA in jeopardy. So the NBB program is holistic, but there isn’t enough innovation in teaching and many classes turn into creampuff courses because the teachers don’t want to take the time to raise the level or do something different. Drugs and Behavior could, for example, use discussion sessions to talk about certain issues in depth. I mean come on, it has 200 people. Schools w/lesser emphasis on teaching even know to do discussion/recitation sections when science courses are in excess of 150. The biol, psyche, and anthro. dept. seem to also know this (in fact some upper levels do it when they are merely 55+).</p>

<p>As for the well-rounded portion. While I am a chem/bio BS double, I essentially have a political science and religion minor (needless to say, neither will be recognized). I built the majority of my writing skills between history, polisci, and religion (as science courses aren’t really serious about this aspect). I also just really enjoy the social sciences. </p>

<p>Yeah anyway, given that you are more interested in a mixture of social science and science. I would simply major in NBB and take the electives in the Anthro. and psyche dept. It will help learn some neuro/behavioral science while also sharpening critical thinking and writing skills, preserving your GPA, and keeping you on tract to complete your pre-med courses. Those who generally do the almost purely NBB electives (minus those I mentioned) only preserve their GPA, and doesn’t do much of the same things that the legit psyche and anthro. electives do.</p>

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<p>how hard is intro anthropology and intro sociology, and how much reading do those classes have?</p>

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<p>I don’t know. I hear that they normally have a reasonable amount of reading (and w/soci. perhaps writing), but any exams associated w/the course are not hard. Given that, those classes should fall into the easy-moderate category.</p>

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<p>thanks bernie :)</p>

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<p>This page (search results) seems to contain syllabi for two soc. 101 professors:
[Search</a> Results: sociology 101](<a href=“Search | Emory University | Atlanta GA”>Search | Emory University | Atlanta GA)</p>

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<p>Could you major in NBB and take its electives in anthro? I thought you could only take electives in Neuro when majoring in NBB. Even though NBB majors have a pretty good GPA average, I imagine anthro majors must have that too?!</p>

<p>I am not so sure about NBB’s teaching skills as Bernie described. I don’t tend to do well in multiple choice exams that focuses solely on regurgitation info. I much prefer to learn something and understand the topic lectured by a competent professor than have professors that doesn’t really teach (similar to my high school teachers) and give repetitive scantron exams. </p>

<p>As for great teachers. I just checked out 2011 Fall Atlas and it listed Mulford, Morkin, and Hill for intro chem. they didn’t list anyone for intro bio, so which teachers (for intro bio and chem) are good and interesting lecturers that doesn’t give out hardcore tests that completely freaks out students? </p>

<p>I still haven’t decided on a major but I am thinking along the lines of NBB major with anthro electives and a sociology minor or Anthro+ human bio major with a minor in global health or socio.?</p>

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<p>Yes, you can, most of the electives lie outside of the NBB department, and you may take them in w/e dept. you want (as opposed to say 1-2 in each): <a href=“http://nbb.emory.edu/current/courses/electives.html[/url]”>http://nbb.emory.edu/current/courses/electives.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Note that many of the NBB electives listed have not been offered in a while whereas the anthro, psyche, and biol electives are offered each year (at least one semester, many of the cooler sounding classes in any dept. at Emory, is offered in spring)</p>

<p>No, gen. chem/bio profs. don’t give particularly hard (I mean, they “can” be challenging, but they are certainly nothing to be loathed if you studied. If anything, many questions can be a little annoying, but if you prepared well, things should turn out well) tests. Gen. chem sections are roughly the same difficulty. Mulford and Morkin (is a little harder than Mulford, but many also think she’s a little better than Mulford. In reality their averages end up being about the same, so just pick one) are the best and most experienced teachers (Hill is pretty good, especially for top flight researcher, but the other two are flat out lecturers). Biology probably didn’t list it because they a) don’t know who will be teaching certain sections or b) don’t want students flocking to professors that are known as very easy (this is the only weakness in the way that Emory does intro. courses in pre-med classes. Instead of having few choices w/similar difficulty, there are many, and those who decide to take a more challenging, albeit better prof. will not necessarily be rewarded GPA wise. However, at least we have some good intro. profs. Most schools, even peers, don’t). For example, people flock to Escobar’s sections (and he even overloads) and thus his section ends up overenrolled and some of the others end up severely underenrolled. Putting staff will force students to initially choose based upon time preferences instead of difficulty. I’d imagine that want a more tight distribution of section sizes this year. However, if Escobar is teaching (likely), word will likely get around and people will suddenly swap into his class like the idiots they are.<br>
If people were to choose based upon teaching quality Spell and whatever case-based professor (don’t think Eisen is doing it this time. If lucky, Passalauqua will. She’s excellent and gives fair exams that are not majority multiple choice) will win hands down. Their tests are certainly harder than Escobar’s, but people generally do well because they are superior at teaching the material (last year, Spell’s averages kept up w/Escobar’s up until the last exam where Escobar’s lame teaching revealed itself and they scored really poorly. The same happened my year when I took Escobar. Needless to say I switched into a better but tougher prof. second semester where we were pretty consistent across the board. Not, decent averages leading into last exams, and then a sudden fail that needs curving).</p>

<p>By the way, in terms of GPA and departments. It’s not about the average GPA of a major in a certain dept., it’s moreso about the grades given w/in courses associated with those depts. For example, bio, chem, physics (and some other non-NBB dept.) are averaging 2.8-2.9? for grades given. Psyche is probably 3.0-3.2ish, same for NBB and anthro. Needless to say, most people in these majors will have significantly higher overall GPAs than reflected here because they will take the easiest GERs. Also, Emory, like other top 20s is pretty grade inflated (or at least easy to avoid rigor), so in reality, many/most people have good GPAs no matter their major. I mean, the average graduating GPA for class of 2011 was a freaking 3.39, and almost 50% of their class had 3.5+, so the median must be like 3.47-3.49ish. This makes it clear that a) Emory is not really challenging most students or b) The students are not challenging themselves. In reality it’s both because it shouldn’t be so easy to not challenge yourself or even learn at a top school. I suppose if one is disciplined, which many are, you can learn in an easy environment. Research suggests, however, that students tend to work much less when the demands are less or are unclear, or if they know they can easily achieve a A/B w/o doing the work that is supposedly required for it (in other words they already know a professor is soft). At least this isn’t unique to Emory. Regardless, I wouldn’t worry about your GPA suffering because of your major. That hardly happens. Those w/lower gpas generally take harder professors or are not willing to do the work associated w/a easy-moderate class where the prof. doesn’t budge on certain standards Some people actually think they deserve a reward or high grade for simply “trying/working hard” as opposed to working hard AND producing high quality work. This is Emory, and when a professor is very clear (and has a history of either having high standards or being clear on them) on their standards, you better meet them (and not simply “work hard”). No amount of whining will save you in such a case.<br>
GPAs, with maybe a couple of exceptions, are not the result of the nature of a major, it’s all about you: your work ethic, your course/prof. selection, and your level of interest. Given this, the system is easy to work. The place isn’t like an engineering school, for example, where most people will struggle at at least one point in time (though many will) regardless of what they do.</p>

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<p>Just a side note (though this probably doesn’t matter to most pre-meds): Yes, Grades are important for getting into Medical School, but so are MCAT scores. If you maintain a high GPA, but get a terrible (or even mediocre) MCAT score because you learned nothing as an undergrad, you’re screwed. Also, MCAT scores and GPA may HELP to get you an interview for medical school, but Medical Schools are also looking for something that makes you stand out. And I’m not referring to research experience, volunteering at a hospital, becoming an EMT, shadowing doctors, etc. because that clearly won’t make any med school applicant stand out, since everyone else does that. </p>

<p>But once you have the interview, your experience, integrity, and presence in your interview are what ultimately get you into Med school. What integrity does someone have that majored in an “easy” major (even if it’s not what interests him/her) just to get a good GPA. </p>

<p>Plus, if you don’t get into medical school because your GPA isn’t all that great because you challenged yourself, take a year or two and do something to stand out, like travel, join the Peace Corps, or what have you, and then re-apply. What’s the worst that could happen? We all only have one life. Why waste it doing something we don’t like for fear of failure? </p>

<p>Oh, and NBB has just as many pre-meds (if not more) at Emory than probably Bio and Chem combined at Emory. It seems as if A LOT of pre-meds gravitate toward NBB for whatever reason. If you’re interested in Neuroscience (truly interested), then by all means, I would choose NBB. But if you don’t really want to have anything to do with Neuro, I would go with the Anthro + Human Bio, which will definitely give you a more solid foundation for all the reading and analysis required in med school. Plus, we may be the last class in the clear, but I think it’s the year AFTER the current incoming freshmen would typically take the MCAT, the format is changing and is now going to be 7 hours long (instead of 5), and will contain psychology, sociology, and more knowledge in the social sciences. NBB may help with that, but so may Anthro. </p>

<p>The Emory Wheel actually commented on these changes, if you want to take a look: [Possible</a> MCAT Changes to Affect Student Preparation | The Emory Wheel](<a href=“http://www.emorywheel.com/detail.php?n=29697]Possible”>http://www.emorywheel.com/detail.php?n=29697)</p>

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<p>Damn Bernie, I am sure I say this for all others on Emory’s thread: you are “effing” awesome! I am just so glad that there is someone to help us through everything since we are complete noobs at this “college-thing!”</p>

<p>I am looking forward to taking Morkin or Mulford for gen chem, and hopefully Passalauqua or Eisen for gen bio. Would you suggest taking these classes at an earlier time in the morning and labs in the afternoon? I also plan on taking Math 112Z (still don’t know my calc bc score yet) and fresh seminar in African Studies or Sociology for the fall sem. For spring, I plan on finishing bio 142 and chem 142 and also taking Spanish, and writing course (not gonna use ap credit since it helps with MCAT). As for the “ever-dreaded” orgo, and inorganic chem (I think you need to also take for premed), who would you recommend? And is it advisable to take physics with orgo?</p>

<p>Thank you again for helping us with everything!</p>

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<p>Most sophomores take physics w/orgo. (also, freshmen in orgo. are inclined to take calc. based physics w/it if not, instead, some higher level math course like Multivariable or Diff. Eq). Definitely take Weinschenk for orgo. Try to take Bing (he is the Weinschenk of physics. They are both challenging, but are the excellent professors. If taking both, lighten the load for the other courses and enjoy the challenge and good teaching. Choose only easy-moderate for the other 2-3 courses), but beware because physics isn’t curved when the average is anywhere in the 70s (the only sections that scale exams are those with averages below far below and that is rare except for the final exams for those sections as midterms are normally easier than Bings). If you get the BC score, I would skip 112-Z and maybe take like a stats. course and then a higher level math (perhaps an advanced/calc. based stats course later) for med. school purposes (as they want 2 semesters of math, not necessarily being calc. It need be anything relevant to the life sciences and I’d argue that stats. is more relevant). Yes, I read that article a while ago. It means that pre-meds will have to take those humanities/social science courses that some of them dread. Also, they should also be encouraged to take more biol courses w/some sort of quantitative emphasis. Yeah, I’m pretty sure many Emory med. school applicants know the consequences of a low MCAT all too well. Normally their fault though. Shouldn’t have taken easy classes and then banked on the prep. course to save them. </p>

<p>Yes, getting those courses over in morning hours (anywhere between 8 and 12ish). Beware of 8:30 biol (TTh) though, it’s probably Escobar. 8:30 chem is normally Morkin.</p>

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<p>Thank you all so much! I am just going to focus on my premed classes for my first two years and learn as much as I can! All of your help has been a life saver…seriously thank you!!!</p>